1st Day of Class

Yesterday, I began my long await motorcycle safety course. The first day was was virtually all classroom work. To keep our attention, our instructor had each of us (there were 4 of us) go to the board repeatedly and write key points we needed to remember. When we hit the part where we had to identify the various important parts of the motorcycle ex. front brake lever, our instructor showed us the bike we'll riding for the practical part of the test. The bike is the Buell Blast. After learning about some of its features, I wasn't impressed. Most alarming in my opinion was the fact the bike doesn't have a fuel gauge! You have to guess how much fuel you have left. Also, I was surprised the bike only had a 3 gallon tank. I expected a bike of its size would've had a larger one. Still, the bike should work for the practical part. I just hope I have minimum problems getting it out of 1st gear. Like standard transmission cars, that's the one you'll be most likely to stall in.

The classroom part of the course went fine though I found myself very nervous. I haven't taken any kind of instruction like this since I took driving lessons with EZ Method Driving School over 20 years ago. Plus, I know from learning how to drive a car with a clutch how tricky it can be to get such a vehicle out of 1st gear. On a rare occasion, I still stall my car. In the case of this course, I'll have just a day to get the hang of riding a bike with a clutch (half a day today and half a day tomorrow). Lastly, there are a few serious differences with controls on a motorcycle vice a scooter. The left handle lever controls the clutch on a motorcycle whereas on a scooter it controls the rear brake. You have a foot pedal on the ride side for the rear brake on a motorcycle. The blast has a fuel control valve you have to remember to turn on and off whereas my scooter doesn't. Lastly, you have to put the motorcycle in 1st gear at the beginning. Every time you stop, you have to make sure you put it back in 1st gear and hold the clutch lever in. With a scooter, you don't have to mess with any of this. This makes me appreciate the hassles free of a scooter that much more.

Our second day of class will have us riding the bike and taking the written exam. The exam is 50 questions multiple choice. Our instructor assured us it will be the easiest multiple choice test we've ever taken. We'll see. I've been studying just in case. I'm determined to get my license if I can. Stay tuned for more updates.

Finished Up at Small Post Office

Yesterday, I finished up on a route at a small post office where I've worked the last 4 days. The regular carrier will be back to work Monday to do the route. I've really enjoyed working at that post office. There hasn't been any drama. No wondering who is going to call out just because they don't feel like going into work or they're hungover. Also, there hasn't been any bs like I can't do a bump because I have a prior commitment but, they won't tell you what the alleged commitment is. Instead, I've been able to concentrate on doing the route and enjoying chatting with the Postmaster and other carrier as I cased my mail. I found the customers on the route nice. One lady at a business was so pleased with me making sure she got her package, she called the Postmaster and gave me a compliment. The Postmaster was really pleased.

Today, I get to work at my regular post office. It should go well barring me having to take a bump off another route. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that won't happen. If it does, I'll remind myself I have my motorcycle safety course next week to look forward to. It looks like the course will definitely go. I can't wait. Cheers all!

Very Short Routes

Yesterday, I worked at the small post office I like so much. I've previously mentioned that this post office doesn't have any subs because their routes are so small. I found out HOW small yesterday. Out of curiousity, I checked the assessed time on the routes and, I found out they are rated at just 6 and 1/2 hours a day. Multiply that times 6 days and you get 39 hours. The carriers on these routes are just qualifying as full time carriers. A half hour less and they wouldn't be able to qualify for full time carriers. We have an auxiliary route at the post office where I regularly work that is rated at 6 hours that HAS to be carried by a substitute carrier as it doesn't have a enough hours for a full time carrier. Barring the low money, I suspect the carriers that do these 2 routes like them. Show time at their post office is 8:30 and they finish at 3 p.m. The only downside is they don't make lots of money and, they have problems if they want to take time off. The Postmaster at this post office has really been scrambling to get subs to cover their rural route 2 while the regular is gone. It creates a considerable headache for her if she allows one of her regulars to take a lot of time off. More so, as any sub that she gets can be pulled back at the last minute to their respective post office. A sub can work at any post office BUT, they belong to their primary post office. If their primary post office suddenly needs them, they MUST return to that post office. My primary post office has had problems with this too as we've been forced to use subs from other post offices.

Today, I hope to work at that small post office again. I'm getting the hang of the route they put me on BUT, I know there is the chance I may get called back to my primary post office. I told the Postmaster at the small one that though I do hope to get to work for her again. She is super nice and, there isn't the drama at her post office like there is at my main one. It makes for a more pleasant work environment. We'll see what works out.

Messed Over

The Laurel Maryland Harley Davidson dealership did a nice number on me today. As any readers I have know, I was big time looking forward to taking the motorcycle safety course so I could get my license. The Laurel dealership was where I'd signed up for the course and paid $350 for it. I took 3 days of leave from work so I'd be able to do the course. I drove out to the dealership this morning and quickly noticed I was the only one waiting for the course. A man who worked at the dealership asked if he could help me. I told him I was here for the motorcycle safety course. He promptly called the lady that does the scheduling. I was let in and, she informed me that the course had been cancelled because the community college that has the range they use said they couldn't use their range until October 19th. All courses till then were cancelled. The dealership for unknown reasons never got around to telling me. Because of their mistake, I missed out working on my favorite route and who knows how many other hours. Worse, I'll have to take 3 more days off to try to take the course later. The dealership was kind enough to find me another dealership that is offering the course Monday through Wednesday. Still, I'm not too pleased with them for their snafu. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that I get to take the course next time. We'll see. Stay tuned.

Butt Kicked

As I previously reported, I found out I was supposed to work Wednesday and Thursday this week on a full route. The route I was supposed to do was my second favorite so it wasn't any super biggee. Then, that got changed. A regular carrier on another route asked for leave on short notice. It was the route another sub hates. I got tagged to do it. I don't know that route's case at all. My only saving grace was that I was familiar with parts of the route though I'd never worked the ENTIRE route. I got my butt kicked on it bad. At times, I thought I was going to go crossed eyed trying to find addresses on the mail case. Also, the route gets a LOT of mail. I hate cutting mail (that's where you leave mail that doesn't have to be delivered THAT day) but, I had little choice if I wanted to get on the street and deliver what I had at a decent hour. Once I delivered the mail I'd cased, I spent 2 and 1/2 hours trying to case the mail I'd cut. I ended up working over 12 and 1/2 hours. Realizing that I would have the same problem the next day, I went in at 5:15 in the morning. It was going in that early that enabled me to finish casing all the mail for the route and manage to get done by 5 p.m. So, I worked nearly 12 hours for a second day. I was seriously whooped. Thankfully, I got to do my favorite route yesterday though I got bit again. The small post office I worked at Monday asked if I could help there once I finished my route at my main post office. Normally, I would say NO WAY. But, I really like the Postmaster there and agreed to do it. So, after working over 8 hours at my post office, I drove to the other post office and worked another 2 hours. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I only have to do the route I'm assigned to today. We've had a lot of Saturdays lately where we had to break up a route. We'll see how it goes. If nothing else, I'm really going to enjoy my 3 days off for the motorcycle course after this grinding week. Cheers all!

Another Grinding Week

It looks like I'll have another grinding week at the post office. Yesterday, I was assigned to a different post office. This small post office which shall go unnamed doesn't have any substitute carriers so our post office provides them with subs when they can. That isn't often considering our own situation. One problem being assigned to this small post office is you don't get to do their routes very often so, you never really get to know them. Because of this, I arrived early so I could get a good jump on sorting the route's mail in its mail case. This enabled me to hit the street at a decent hour (approximately 1:15 p.m.). While working at this post office, my boss called and wanted me to help at the main post office afterwards. I said no way because I had no idea when I would get the route I was assigned to done. He then informed me that I would work full routes the rest of the week (I was supposed to deliver Express Mails Wednesday and Thursday). I sagged at that news as that means I'll have another grinding week at the post office. The only good thing about it is I'll earn a nice paycheck. I'm very much looking forward to the 3 day motorcycle safety course I'll get to take as it'll give me a breather from the grind and drama of the post office where I work. Stay tuned for updates on the motorcycle safety course.

Future Bike

Yesterday, I went to Heyser Cycle to do some haggling and see what bike I would end up buying. Initially, I thought I was going to end up with either a Suzuki 400 or 650. Both of these offer more storage area than the Yamaha TMAX. Also, the 400 is $1,400 cheaper than the TMAX. Lastly, I knew I could work a deal on a 400 as one was on sale on Ebay for $5,300 or so. That was $1,300 below MSRP. However, Heyser offered me a deal on the TMAX and, the TMAX handles a lot better than the Suzuki bikes. The TMAX was designed as a scooter equivalent to a sport bike whereas the Suzukis were designed as scooters. When I had to make the call on which bike to get, that was what decided it for me. I plan to go fast on the thing when I get the nerve up and, I want to know I can rely on the bike handling well. With the TMAX, I shouldn't have any problems. So, I put a $500 deposit down on the TMAX and applied to Yamaha's financing. One deal I was able to get was 6 months interest free credit. I should have a large chunk of the bike paid off before that expires and, I should be able to pay the rest off when it does expire. Now, I have to wait for the motorcycle safety course so I can the license so I can ride the thing. I can't wait for that. Stay tuned for more updates.

2010 TMAX

I found out Yamaha's 2010 TMAX scooter will be coming out in February. From what I could see, the only change to the scooter is 2 different color schemes. You'll have a choice of all silver or red and silver. One bit of bad news on the 2010 bike is that the price going to go up almost $500. I definitely plan to get the cheaper 2009 model. I'm chomping at the bit to take the motorcycle safety course so I can get my license and get a TMAX. I drove out to Bowie today and, I held up traffic again going and coming. It was very annoying. When I get my TMAX, that won't happen any more. Plus, my bike won't be a joke like my Vino Classic is. 14 days and a wake up to my class. I can't wait.

Mail Load

We've been paying dearly for the Labor Day weekend at the post office where I work. Since the 3 day weekend, we've been playing catch up. The amount of mail we've had to carry has been significantly larger. Wednesday, when I returned from the route I was doing, I found 4 tubs of mail and flyers waiting for me for Thursday. To make sure I hit the street i.e. started delivering the mail at a decent time, I went in an hour early Thursday. It turned out to be a smart move. I had at least 4 more tubs of mail waiting when I arrived that morning. Thankfully, the route I was assigned to has a large mounted part so once I cased the mail on that portion, that was it. All I had to do was stick it in the box. On routes that have cluster boxes, I would have had to do a second casing and had to deal with lots of bad mail i.e. mail that wasn't deliverable. I'll be glad when we've caught up on the back log of mail.

Facebook

I discovered the last few days that you can't contact Facebook's support people directly. They force you to try to find the answer to your problem through their FAQ. I couldn't even get the FAQ to work right so there wasn't any way I could fix my problem i.e. I wasn't able to make ANY entries on my wall or make comments on friends entries. I was ready to chuck the whole thing when I got a bit of lucky inspiration. I decided to clear my browsers history and cookies. To my surprise, that fixed the problem. I'll have to remember that from now and remember to clear those every once in a while.

Overall, I haven't been wiped out with Facebook. The nicest thing about it so far has been being able to keep in contact with couple guys I knew in the Air Force. It's nice to see what they're up to.

Problem Sub

One of our problem subs got me again. This sub is known for calling out on Mondays or the day after a holiday. I don't know whether it's because they don't want to deal with the higher amount of mail i.e. laziness or they are hungover from their partying i.e. excessive debauchery. Whatever the reason, I wasn't thrilled to get contacted at 5:30 this morning that I was needed to do their route. Grrrrrr! I wanted big time to do the same back but, it wouldn't have hurt the sub who called out. So, I went in and did the route. One blessing of sorts is that I got added for 2 more days on another route which means I'll hit my 40 hours this week and get paid for every thing I worked. On days after a holiday, it's impossible to hit the accessed time and, you end giving the Postal Service some free hours unless you hit your 40.

Longest Ride

I went on my longest ride on my scooter yesterday. I wanted the Mike and the Mechanics CD "Hits." The only Best Buy store that had it in my area was in Glen Burnie. I used Mapquest to see what local roads I could use to get there. There was a way I could ride there on my scooter though I wasn't sure the roads would stay to 50 mph or less. I decided to try it. The ride went all right though I ended up holding up traffic again at points. That made me wish I had the super scooter I want to get. I made it to the Best Buy store and, I was able to buy the CD I wanted. While there, I picked up a couple others. I've heard of the Jonas Brothers and, I decided to see if their music was any good so I bought one of their CDs. Also, I bought one called Celtic Thunder. The name sounds a bit over blown. We'll see if their music is any good.

After buying my CDs, I began make my way back home. I stopped at the Arundel Mills Mall Dave & Busters to play some Spin & Win. Yesterday was the last day of their 1/2 price games promotion. Without that promotion, it can be pretty expensive playing the games there. Luck and timing were with me yesterday. I hit the 1,000 ticket light 25 times! I ended up winning over 29,000 tickets. I have over 230,000 now. It was fun. Dave & Busters still didn't have any prizes I wanted. I didn't need a blender. I have one already. I didn't want a Digicam as I won't be going on any trips any time soon to video and, I don't play various games. So, I saved my tickets. Hopefully, they'll get some better prizes as it gets closer to Christmas. We'll see. I'm also curious to see what new promotions they come out with. They're going to have to come out with a good one to get me to go back. It's too expensive to play their games otherwise.

That's all for now. 25 days till I get to take the motorcycle safety course. I can't wait. Once I take that, I'll be able to get my super scooter. Annoyingly, I haven't seen any great deals on a TMAX on Ebay. That's going to be very important in helping me get a good deal on one. I hope I don't have to hold off. We'll see. Stay tuned.

Music and My MP3 Player

I continue to download music to my new Zune MP3 player. It is enormously more convenient to have it on the player as it saves me from having to go through scores of CDs and, I don't have to worry about the player accidentally skipping on whatever music I'm playing. One drawback I've been having is that music I bought on-line and downloaded on-line from other services didn't transfer to my Zune music library. One example was "The Best of Bill Cosby." I had to buy that again, this time from Zune Marketplace. Another excellent album I've had to buy AGAIN is Glen Campbell's Greatest Hits. I really like his "Galveston" and "Wichita Lineman" songs. In some cases, Zune Marketplace doesn't have music I want like Nickelback's latest album which has 2 really great songs - Somebody for Me and If Today was Your Last Day. Still, overall, the player has been really handy. I plan to take it on trips so I can listen to tunes when I'm on the tour bus and, we're between stops. It'll make the time go by faster. It would also be nice to listen to while waiting for flights in airports. Cheers all!

Royally Messed Over

Yesterday, my fellow substitute rural carriers really did a number on me. We were down a route as usual. We've been down routes for 2 weeks now. I cased the down route so I didn't have to deliver any of it. That put me behind on the route I was assigned but, I managed to get out on the street in decent time and was doing a good job on it. I get a call from my boss. Apparently, other subs weren't taking their parts of the broken up route. I told him he needed to call them back in. He couldn't reach them. I finished my route and returned to the Post Office. There were 2 segments of the broken up route left.

One thing you must understand is that First and Second class mail MUST be delivered the day it is received. There are no exemptions on this rule. It MUST be delivered. Because one sub didn't take his segment, another sub would have to take 2. That sub wasn't going to go for that. The mail HAD to be delivered. So, I got tagged to deliver the segment the other sub SHIRKED. I deliver that segment. I'm the last rural carrier back because of it. The sub who was supposed to take the segment doesn't take it for unknown reasons. The mail MUST be delivered. I'm the only one at the Post Office who knows where this mail goes. Apparently, they won't call or can't reach any of the other subs. I'm made to deliver a SECOND bump that I shouldn't have had to deliver. I end up clocking out at 7:40 P.M.! Some subs who didn't do diddly got to leave at 1:30 P.M. I got royally messed over and, I was furious as I've been getting the shaft for the last 2 weeks. This crap must stop. I'll likely to filing my first grievance as otherwise it's almost certain to continue. I'd also like to retaliate on the subs who messed me over by calling out on their lazy asses. Then, they can pick up my shit for a change and see how they like it. We'll see what happens.

Old Sore

Yesterday, an old sore came back. I was hoping to have a normal day at the post office after a week and a half of having to take bumps or Express Mail in addition to having to do a full route. I wasn't going to be so lucky. 2 subs called out on one route. The sub that normally does the route called out sick. The sub that assigned to replace him called out as he had to work at his normal post office. That is always one of the problems with using a sub from another post office. So, we had to break the route up. It got worse. Someone needed to case the down route. The boss decided to have a sub who has another route to case it. This sub is a single parent. The sub has to be done by 2 p.m. so the sub can meet their kids when they get home from school. Fair enough right except, the rules state the sub should be able to do the job as any other sub which means if the sub has to stay late so be it. For months, the sub hasn't had to do that. So, that sub gets to go home by 2 p.m. while I'm slogging away at 7 p.m. delivering mail still. Unfair I say! Yet, nothing is done about it. So, I'm sore about the unfairness of it and having to stay out late. Another issue to add to my list with the seriously messed up post office.

Worse

I thought things couldn't get worse at the Post Office after Monday of last week's debacle where we were down 3 routes and had to do double routes. I was wrong. What is worse than that? Being down SIX routes! I couldn't believe it. A sub from another post office who was scheduled to work at ours got tagged to work at his on short notice. A regular carrier came down with chickenpox. One of our regular subs was still sick from his trip home. Another sub who was scheduled to work walked out and had to be persuaded to come back. Yet another sub had car problems and couldn't make it in. Lastly, we didn't have a sub to do the sixth route from the get go. It was the worst mess I've seen yet. I ended up casing mail on 5 different routes and, I ended delivering it on one till 8 p.m. I racked up 13 hours yesterday. Today, it looks like we'll ONLY be down 1 route. After yesterday, that'll be a cake walk. We'll see how it goes. Cheers!

End of an Era

To my shock, I found out Pastor R. B. Thieme Jr. died last Sunday. I've listened to Thieme's bible doctrine lessons for years. I found him an incredible teacher of the word. He was also very unique. Gruff, tough and times abrasive and yet, he was an incredible teacher. His teaching of the word has helped get through numerous personal crices. So many times when the crap was or seemed to be hitting the fan, his teaching would calm me down, give me hope and help me focus on the solution instead of the problem. I got to see him twice during a bible conference he held in Pensacola Beach some years ago. It was an experience to see him in the flesh. I wish I could've known him better. I was very saddened to hear of his death. In my opinion, he was an incredible man and pastor. My consolation is that he is "absent from the body and face to face with the Lord in a place of no more sorrow and no more tears." While his son Bobby carries on his great work of disseminating bible doctrine, I will miss him and I know other tapers will too.

Ouch!

I got my latest Baltimore Gas & Electric bill this morning. I was stunned. It was a whopping $156. That is the largest bill I've ever received from them. The kicker is I don't keep my apartment icy cold either. I'd hate to see some of the bills my friends are getting. Also, I dread what my bill is going to be like if Congress passes Cap and Trade. I've heard that will nearly double people's utility bills. They're expensive enough already. Jeez! Thankfully, I've been racking up lots of hours at the Post Office so I'll be able to pay it. I sure will be glad when the cooler weather gets here. This 90 degree plus stuff is for the birds. Cheers all!

Crazy Day

Yesterday, I had a crazy day at the Post Office. For starters, we were short one carrier for one of the routes so we had to break it up and, I had to take part of the route. Second, I tried to help case mail on the route. However, I don't know the mail case and, I ended going in circles trying to find addresses on the mail case. Lastly, the delivery to point service mail (DPS) got totally messed up. There were large amounts of mis-sorted mail in the DPS. This meant I had to go through all the DPS mail and find the mis-sorted mail for my route and the part of the other route I was taking. It was a real nuisance. Still, I managed and got through the day. Tomorrow promises to be worse as we'll be down 2 carriers and have to break up 2 routes. We'll see how long my day ends up being tomorrow. Cheers all!

The Heat

Yesterday was one of the days when I wish I didn't work for the Postal Service. The heat index hit 105 supposedly. The only thing that would've made it worse was if we'd had high humidity. I was sweating a bunch and having to make sure I kept tanking up on water. Luckily, the route I was assigned had places where I could run in and get drinks from water fountains. I plan to buy me a good water jug today so I'll be better prepared for the full route I have to do tomorrow. Cheers all!

Motorcycle Course

I stopped by the local Harley Davidson dealership. They offered the motorcycle safety course you have to take in order to get your motorcycle license. Without that license, I can't ride the super scooter I want to buy very badly. So, I asked what September dates they'll have and if I could get into a class on short notice. It turns out I can't get in on short notice as their classes fill up quickly. Concerning dates, once it's likely I can get 3 days off to do the course, I'll have to check back with them when they'll be offering the course on Mondays through Wednesdays. They also offer the course Thursday through Sunday HOWEVER, if there is one day I can't take off, it's Saturday. Saturdays are always a mess at the Post Office where I work. So, I have to take the course Monday through Wednesday.

On something related to the course, I ordered myself some motorcycle boots. You need something that has thick soles and covers the ankle for adequate protection. These will do the trick WHEN I get them. To my annoyance, they got back ordered. I'm hoping they'll show up sometime around the 17th. We'll see. Stay tuned for more motorcycle adventure stuff.

Back to Work

I had to go back to work today. I can't say I was thrilled. When I met the U.S. Customs official at the Toronto Airport, he asked if I liked my job. I told him no BUT, I do like the money I make. I think that sums it up. My job at the Post Office is a royal pain BUT, it pays for my trips and my cool new toys. In a couple months, I hope to buy a Yamaha TMAX scooter. I'd like to get it now but, I wouldn't be able to ride the thing as you have to have a motorcycle license for a bike with an engine that large (499cc). My job at the Post Office will be paying for that TMAX scooter. It'll also be paying for my future trip to Ireland (I can't wait). So, I guess I can't bitch and moan too much about my job. Considering how things are job wise in the U.S., I should count my blessings I have one. Plus, tomorrow I'll get to do my favorite route. That's all for now. Cheers!

Home Again

I made it home last night. The Globus Canada tour I was on finished Sunday. Globus had the tour finish with a bang by having the group go to Niagara Falls and a farewell dinner at the CN tower. Niagara Falls were very impressive. They are the biggest falls I've ever seen. Globus included a ride of the Maid of the Mist boat which takes you right up to the falls. The boat ride was a lot of fun. After the boat ride, I made my quickest trip to the U.S. when I dashed across the border so I could get a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt from the U.S. Niagara Falls Hard Rock Cafe. Then, I dashed back to Canada to get the Canada shirt. The dinner at the CN tower was top knotch. However, I was saddened as the tour was over. We had a nice group.

Monday, I made my way home. I'd heard flights were being delayed into and out of New York. To my relief, I got out of Toronto all right. However, I got stuck in New York JFK Airport for 4 hours! When our plane arrived at Baltimore Washington Airport (BWIA), we got stuck on the tarmac for 40 minutes. Another plane had taken our spot and, they had to move the other plane so we could park. I ended getting home around 11 p.m. Aargh!

Thankfully, I gave myself a couple days to recover and catch up on stuff. I need to buy groceries, pay various bills and hand out presents I bought on the trip. However, I've already contacted my travel agent Joel Mills to see about my next tour. That one will be a while as there isn't any place I'm real anxious to see during the winter. A cruise would be nice but, I absolutely want my own cabin and, they charge double for that. I may do a trip home during the winter. I promised my Dad I would try to make it home more often. Come summer, I'm determined to see Ireland. That trip would be a 2 weeker. There is lots to see there. One nice thing about Ireland is it's not super far flying wise. Joel said Globus should release its summer Ireland tour dates soon so, I should be able to figure when I want to go and put a deposit down. Once I do that, I'll counting the days till I get to go to Ireland. Cheers all!

Farewell

I'm a bit sad at the moment. I just got back from the tour's farewell dinner. I know I only knew the people in our group for 7 days tops but, I'm still very saddened to have to say good-bye to them. They were another great Globus group. The groups are one of the things I like so much about Globus. You meet such great people. It can be a trip. Today, we played Get Acquainted Bingo. You have 25 blocks like a regular bingo board. You have to fill them in with names of people on the tour AND, you have to be able to identify them. The second part is the hard part. I had to go over the names on my card again and again to make sure I could identify them. I made a point of talking to those people so I could better remember their names. Those same people were rooting me on when we played Get Acquainted Bingo. To my delight, I won. Because I'd gotten to know them, I was very sad when it was time to say good-bye. I know I'll be going on a second Globus tour in just 2 days but, I'll still miss the people I met on this one. I knew them if only for a short while. Thankfully, our tour director did get a group photo so I'll be remembering them for a while. May they all have safe journies home and may I one day be blessed enough to get to meet them again. Cheers all!

Harper's Ferry & Gettysburg

Yesterday, I got to see Harper's Ferry and Gettysburg. I confess Harper's Ferry didn't excite me as much as Gettysburg. There isn't a whole lot to see at Harper's Ferry. They do have the original fire station that John Brown managed to get himself and the others in his group trapped in before they were captured. The town also has some nice old buildings. Still, the old town of Harper's Ferry isn't that impressive. Interestingly, the entire old town is a national park. The people of Harper's Ferry moved out of it due to the severe flooding the location is subject to. The had a flood marker on one of the walls of an old building that showed how high the flooding got at times. I was shocked. That had one flood where the water rose over 15 feet from their banks. It was hard to believe considering how shallow the rivers were the day I visited.

From Harper's Ferry, we made our way to Gettysburg. Gettysburg is the site of one of the turning points of the American Civil War. I watched the movie Gods and Generals which tells of the battle. It is an incredible story of epic valor, incredible incompetence, brilliance on the part of a few and sheer luck. Globus used a local guide by the name of Gary Kross. He was extremely knowledgeable about the entire battlefield. He could tell you exactly where certain units fought and how many casualties they suffered. He told us of a Brigadier General Green who is largely forgotten but, who was critical in preventing Lee and his forces from taking Culp Hill. Culp Hill was one of 2 anchors of the Union troops lines. If it had fallen, it would've been disastrous. Green had his men build a long wooden barrier which helped protect them from fire from oncoming Confederate troops. The troops initially complained about building the barrier but, they were very grateful for it when the Confederate forces attacked. It was crucial in enabling them to hold off forces that outnumbered them 4 to 1!

I got to see the places where the forces of Pickett's charge emerged to attack. I could imagine the 12,000 men as they formed up. Their attack wasn't an actual charge. It was a march. If they had actually charged, they wouldn't have had the strength left for when they struck the Union forces. As it was, they had to march 1 mile through shot and shell. 120 Union cannon blasted at them the entire way. Also, they had to climb over 2 fences to get to waiting Union forces. It truly must have been an unbelievable sight. The courage those men showed was epic.

I could spent more time at the battlefield and museum but, we had a set dinner appointment to go to. Perhaps, I'll return to Gettysburg and learn more about it. It is an incredible story. Cheers all!

Adventure Begins

After waiting what seemed like ages, my latest adventures began yesterday. I caught a regional Amtrak train from BWI Amtrak station and arrived at Union Station, Washington D.C. It was hard to believe I was on a real tour in D.C. It's not a place I would imagine taking a Globus tour. I've visited D.C. a number of times on my own. Still, that's where the tour starts. It does have one big plus. It was easy to get to and cheap to. This is the first tour where I didn't have some long and expensive flight.

After arriving at Union Station, I met my friend Harvey. I haven't seen him since the Egypt trip. He looked in good shape and spirits. We proceeded to where you can catch a cab and took one to the tour hotel the Capital Hilton. I found out the hotel has been a center of a lot of political activities. It has had a number of inaugural balls, important meetings between politicians and some presidents have favored it. Richard Nixon supposedly would walk down to it on occasion.

After checking in, I got to meet our tour guide Hilary. She struck me as a very nice lady with a pleasant personality. She was waiting in the hotel lobby and checking off very tour members as they arrived. I found out there will be 39 in our group which is a good number. Due to the shortness of our tour, Hilary had to get people to say which dinner they wanted for our dinners in Colonial Williamsburg, Gettysburg and Philadelphia. Also, she told me how things would work at the first group meeting at 6 p.m. Lastly, she was able to direct Harvey and I to a street where there were a number of sandwich shops. Later, we found a Potbelly's which sell pricey but good sandwiches. Those would hit the spot.

The group meeting was interesting. There are 6 Aussie couples in our tour as well as 3 or 4 families. This is the first tour I've been on that will have kids. There are also a number of single ladies though none of them were lookers as far as I could tell. I got to meet a couple of them and, they were nice ladies. One asked where I worked. I told her and, I got the impression she wasn't impressed with the Postal Service. Oh well.

After the group meeting, I called it a night. I was up early yesterday morning and, it had been a somewhat long day. I still found it hard to believe my latest Globus adventures had begun. Stay tuned for more updates. Cheers all!

Contact Lenses

Yesterday, I started wearing contact lenses again. I've worn them off and on for a number of years. They have their plusses and minuses. They're more convenient than glasses. I think people look better with contacts than glasses. They don't slide down your nose like glasses do. On the other hand, you have to mess with trying to put them in your eyes or when it's time taking them out. You have to carry wetting drops in case they dry out on you. You have to mess with saline solutions if you want to clean them or when you're first putting them in. I found another plus for them with me riding my scooter. My helmet doesn't have anything to hit and twist when I'm putting it on. I managed to bend my glasses frames while trying to put my helmet on Wednesday. That's when I decided it was time to wear contacts again. Since, I started wearing them, I've had a lot easier time with my helmet. Another plus, I can use the sunglass screen in the helmet without any problems. With glasses, I'd have to put them in high on my face to avoid having the screen hit them. So, I'll be wearing contacts whenever I'm riding my scooter.

Relieved

Yesterday, my boss finally signed my leave form. I was very anxious about that. Without a signed and approved leave form, I wasn't going on my back-to-back tours with Globus. If I didn't get to go on those after shelling out over $5,000 for them, I was going to be royally pissed off. More so since, I'd gone above and beyond for my boss on a couple occasions. As my readers know, I came down with a cold but, I didn't call out. Also, I carried mail at another Post Office which I'd never been to so my Post Office could keep their word about supplying a body when they needed it. So, I'm relieved and looking forward to the pending tours. Also, I'm trying to figure out where I want to go after them. I really want to visit Ireland next year but, that won't happen till the summer time. I don't want to wait a whole year before travelling again. Yet, I have other things I have to do money wise. I need to top up my IRA and, I owe just under $3,000 on my new Dell laptop. That's a lot of shekels for just those 2 things. So, I may not have much choice about holding off travel wise. We'll see. Stay tuned for more travel updates. Cheers all!

Worried

I'm a bit worried. My boss hasn't signed my leave form for my 2 Globus tours I'll be taking soon. My boss has assured me twice that I'll get to take my requested leave BUT, I know the jam we are in people wise. That jam got worse today when the regular carrier on one of our routes came down with chickenpox. He'll be out till Tuesday of next week. We don't have any spare subs to carry his route tomorrow so we will have to break it up among the subs. I don't know if we have any subs that will be able to carry it the other days he'll be gone. While that won't interfere with my trips, its things like that circumstance that I think could cause them to say I can't take my requested time off. If they do that, I'll be livid. I've been looking forward to these 2 tours for nearly 6 months. Also, I've been working my ass off at the Post Office. Out of the past 11 weeks, I've earned overtime 9 of them. I'm tired. I don't want to see the damn Post Office for a while. That is the biggest thing I'm looking forward to about the 2 tours. I won't be working at the damn Post Office. I doubt they would fire me if I went on the trips without their permission but, I'm former military. I NEVER EVER would've gone AWOL (absent without leave). To me, it would be same thing if I were to go on the 2 tours without an approved leave form. So, I'm worried and, I'll have to wait and see if my boss keeps his word. I hope fervently that he does. If he doesn't, I won't go on the trips BUT, I'll only be working there 1 day a week then because they can suck eggs as far as I'm concerned then. I really will be very pissed off. We'll see what happens. Stay tuned.

Lazy Man's Letter

Recently, I've been sending some friends postcards. I haven't felt like writing a full letter but, I wanted to drop them a few lines and let them know I was thinking of them. Postcards seem to be the ideal answer. They have enough space on them to write 10 lines or so and, they come with a nice picture of something on them. You might say, why not drop them an email? My reply, because not all of them have Internet access. Plus, an email isn't as nice as getting something actually written in the mail in my opinion. I don't know about other people but, I do know I like getting mail (barring junk mail). To me, it shows more thought if they send you a postcard or letter vice an email.

Yesterday, I stocked up on postcards while I was at The Mall in Columbia. It turned out they had a newstand that sold them. They had some decent ones of things in Baltimore (Maryland) and Washington D.C. When I feel like dropping some friends a few lines, I'll grab one from that pile and drop them a postcard. Cheers all!

Documents

I received my travel documents for my upcoming tours with Globus. It was something to look at them. The tours are really going to happen. I'll get to play the world traveller again. It should be a blast. Plus, it'll be great to get away from the Post Office. I've been working lots of hours and, it's taking its toll. I earned overtime this week and, I'll do it again next week. The money will be nice but, I'm going to enjoy more the travel it pays for.

I'll be curious to see what kind of groups we get on these tours. All the tours I've taken previously were 12 or 13 days. The U.S. tour will be just 7 days. Globus markets it for people who have never done an escorted tour before so, I may get to see a bunch of newbies. That'll be interesting. The U.S. tour should still be good. It has lots of neat things to see and experience. Colonial Williamsburg is great and, Richmond is nice. It'll be something to see the Gettysburg battlefield. I read Michael Shaara's novel The Killer Angels. Plus, I watched the movie Gods and Generals. During the tour, the group will get to see a famous Lincoln re-enactor perform. Presumbly, he'll do the Gettysburg Address. That should be good. Lincoln's speech is outstanding.

The Canada tour should be equally good. I'll finally get to see Niagara Falls and, it'll be something to wander the streets of Old Quebec City. I'll get to see plenty of historic Canada during the trip. At the end of the tour, we have our farewell dinner at the CN Tower which should be pretty cool. The Canada tour will be interesting also in that it's sold out. We should have the largest group I've ever travelled with (something like 50 people). I hope the seats on the bus are decently spaced. I hate having my knees pressed into the seat ahead (I have long legs). We'll see. Stay tuned for more travel updates. Cheers all!

Egypt Travel Stories

Recently, I finished my travel stories on Egypt for the http://www.exchangetravelstories.com/ website. I wanted to let people know what to expect on the Avalon Waterways Grand Tour of Egypt. The Globus tour website gives nice basic information but, it doesn't go into great detail about some of the sights and, it isn't impartial. While I like Globus, I won't hesitate to say if something stinks in my opinion. If I like something, I'll say why I like it and maybe give examples. One thing I did on my Egypt stories was praised the tour guide Sami Hassan. He really was outstanding. Why was he outstanding? I showed a number of examples where he watched out for his group. A vendor tried to gouge us at the Alabaster Mosque and, Sami wouldn't let him get away with it. He told everyone not to buy the booties we had to buy so we wouldn't have to take our shoes off when we went inside the mosque. Another time he told me of something that would help settle my stomach when I caught some unknown bug during the tour. His remedy worked (coffee and lime juice) but, it tasted god awful. I was really sorry to say good-bye to Sami at the end of the tour. He was always cheerful and, he knew so much about Egypt. If I ever visit Egypt again, I hope to have him as my tour guide again.

After posting my stories, I had to wait for the site editors to rate them. I don't know why they do or what their criteria is. It can be a little frustrating at times. I confess I like getting a high standard rating on my stories but, I don't know what THEY think makes and high standard story. For some reason, they didn't like my Luxor story but, they loved my stories on Edfu and lunacy on the Nile. I wondered how they were going to like those as I said point blank I wasn't impressed with the horse drawn carriages in Edfu. They looked very rickety. I believe one bunch in our group had a wheel come off their carriage enroute to the Edfu Temple! In regards to lunacy on the Nile, I told of the crazy salesmen who tried to sell stuff to people on our cruise ship from ROWBOATS. It was ridiculous. The salesmen were real characters. Still, I guess they make money doing it. I doubt any in our group could have driven a better bargain than they could. They've been doing it all their lives. Plus, their living depends on it.

Overall, I was delighted that most of my stories got high standard ratings. Also, I'm glad I got them done before I start my next adventures with Globus. I'm impatiently counting the days down till I get to go on the back-to-back tours I'll get to do with them. I can't wait to go. I'm big time burned out at the Post Office. I'll earn overtime this week and next. I think out of the last 12 weeks I've worked at the Post Office, I've earned overtime 9 of them. The money is great but, it really wears you out. I'll be glad to get away from there and do some exciting travel again. Stay tuned for some interesting travel stories. Cheers all!

Small Post Office

Yesterday, I got to work at a different post office. This post office has been loaning my post office one of its regular carriers so we could have an evening watch supervisor. They asked for payback last week. They needed a body to carry mail yesterday, this Friday and this coming Monday. I was the only sub not working yesterday so I got asked if I'd work there. I was told the route I'd be assigned to was equal to an auxiliary route. If that was the case, I figured I could do it so I agreed to work there. I was assigned to the auxiliary route all of 5 minutes before they moved me to a regular route. I was not happy. Thankfully, they gave me help. I needed it as I didn't know the case or the area. I used my post office problem solving skills and managed to find out where the different parts of the route were. Between that and the help I got from the carrier who did do the auxiliary route, I managed to get it done. From what I can tell, the postmaster there was pleased with me. I don't know if I'll be going back or not. We have a carrier who left for her wedding and honeymoon and from what I understand, I'll be doing her route the next 2 weeks. We'll see what happens. If nothing else, it was interesting working at a different post office. Cheers all!

National Wildlife Visitors Center

I wanted to take my scooter for another good test ride to see if I would have any more problems with it. I decided to ride to the National Wildlife Visitors Center. That is a center on the Patuxent Research Refuge that tells of various endangered species and what scientists are doing to save them. Also, they have a video that tells of the history of the Refuge. For over a year, the center was closed for renovation. I found out most of the work had to do with the center's roof and drains. The exhibits inside haven't changed any. It's still a nice center and is free to the public. The area around the center has 3 or 4 trails offering visitors very nice walks in the woods. For anglers, the Refuge offers fishing on Cash Lake. Anglers have to get a free permit to fish there and, they release any fish they catch. For those who don't feel like walking along the trails, the center is offering tram rides on week days and weekends that show various parts of the Refuge. I hope to do one of those tram rides myself. It would be neat to learn more about the Refuge while seeing more of the animals that call it home. The center is easy to get to as it isn't far from Maryland 295 Baltimore Washington Parkway. Signs direct would be visitors to the center.

For me, it was a nice visit. My scooter ran fine and, I had a nice ride out and back. The volunteer manning the welcome desk gave me a good idea for my scooter. He recommended I buy some fuel additive that helps clear out moisture i.e. water in the gas tank and fuel lines. I think it's a good idea and plan to do it. I look forward to going back to the center and riding one of its tram rides so I can learn more about it. Cheers all!

Weird

I planned to take my Yamaha scooter back to the dealership today to get the idling problem fixed. I was pissed. The last 2 times I rode my new scooter, it repeatedly died on me whenever I came to a stop. So, I started it this morning and the minute the engine kicked over, I gunned it. I managed to get the Post Office where I work all right. I'm my section's safety representative and, it was the monthly safety meeting. Once I got to the Post Office, I let off the gas expecting my scooter to putter out and die. To my disbelief, it didn't. It actually idled. I kept waiting for it to konk out. It didn't. Once the meeting was over, I drove it around town and brought it repeatedly to a stop. It never died once. Finally, I rode it out to Arundel Mills Mall and back. It still didn't die. It's weird. I have no idea what has caused my scooter to unexpectedly run right. The only thing I can GUESS is that somehow some water got in the gas tank and, I burned it out the last time I rode it. To be on the safe side gas wise, I filled it up with premium unleaded this time. The fill up still only cost me $2.45. I think I can afford premium in that case. I know I got over 80 miles to the gallon AGAIN. That was neat too. I plan to ride the thing again tomorrow and see how it does. Barring the idling problem, I have been enjoying riding it. I'm slowly getting the hang of it. More and more, I suspect I'll see about trading up to a more powerful scooter. I just to get really proficient with riding the thing first. I think that'll make the motorcycle safety course I'll have to take a lot easier. We'll see. Cheers all.

Frustration

I took my scooter for a ride yesterday. I wanted to see if I would have the same problem I had when I rode it Sunday. I did. The problem is the scooter won't idle. When I start the scooter, I have to hit the gas immediately otherwise it'll choke and die. I did manage to ride the scooter but, every time I had to come to a stop, the scooter who die. It was very frustrating. So, I'll have to take the scooter back to the dealership AGAIN and have them try to fix the idle problem AGAIN. I shouldn't have these kinds of problems with a new scooter. Thank God it's under warranty so the dealership has to fix the problem. If they don't get it fixed soon, I'll be asking for my money back or another new scooter. Stay tuned.

Bible Doctrine CDs

This past week, I finally finished my first bible doctrine MP3 CD. Each CD has 36 lessons on it. In that way, the CDs are far more convenient vice the old cassette tapes. If I had wanted to take 36 lessons on cassettes, I would've had a good size box to carry with me vice one CD. Also, I suspect it's cheaper for R. B. Thieme Bible Ministries to make copies of the CDs. The blank CD would cost pennies and the recording technology is readily available. Still, I find I miss the cassettes. I liked putting one of those in my portable cassette player vice having to mark what lesson I would do next in my lesson notebook. Also, it is easier to rewind a cassette and re-listen to something you might miss vice on the CD. With the CD, you'd have to listen to the entire lesson again. Because of that, I don't bother to try to go back to points I might've missed. Lastly, I liked being a taper i.e. a person who listened to Paster Thieme's bible doctrine lessons on tape vice getting to listen to them live. It was something of a mark of distinction. Being a CDer doesn't sound the same. Oh well. I continue to the lessons and, I feel they continue to do me good. I suspect they would do more good if I would be more consistent in listening to them. I'm still really bad about getting myself to listen to the lessons. I'll find any number of things to do other than listen to a lesson. The only time I seem to be really good about listening to the lessons is when crap is hitting the fan. I should listen to God when the times are good as well as bad. Too often, I don't. I suspect I also stray from God when the times are good as I don't feel I need him as much nor do I give him the credit he deserves. I need to be more conscienscous about that. Give God thanks in the good times as well as the bad. Cheers all!

Cold Update

My cold continues to progress and, I think I'm getting better. My temperature has come down to where it was nearly normal this morning (99.0F). My sinuses aren't nearly as clogged. I'm not sneezing at all. Also, I don't have a runny nose anymore. The main symptom I'm still suffering from is coughing up mucus from my lungs. The coughs seem to go in spurts. I was very annoyed when one of those spurts erupted while I was talking on the phone to my friend Harvey. I'm sure he thought I was still very ill when I'm not. Harvey and others at the Post Office where I work mentioned the Swine Flu which is going around. Because of them, I looked into it and as far as I can tell, I don't have it. The symptoms sound a lot like the regular flu so I can't be 100% sure but, I'm not going to bother to go the clinic I go to if I continue to improve. Luckily, I won't have to work for the next couple days so that should help things too. We'll see how it goes. Cheers all!

Cold - Stage 2

My cold entered stage 2 today. Yesterday, I didn't have any stuffiness, runny nose or occasional sneezing. Today, I had all those. To make matters worse, the Wal-Mart version of Dayquil didn't seem to do much good. All of the symptoms made my day at the Post Office that much worse. I had to keep a kleenex handy constantly to catch the drops coming out of my nose. Those were really aggravating. Incredibly, our acting boss was considering giving me a bump on another route because the regular couldn't show. I couldn't believe it. I'm sick and, he should be glad I didn't call out and leave in a really big lurch. There aren't many who know the route I was doing today. I was virtually spent by the time I got done. I still have 2 more days to work before I get a day off (Sunday). I'm not looking forward to them. Also, I'm hoping I'll be healthy in time for the tours I was planning on taking. If I'm not, I won't go. I don't think anyone in the tour would want to be around someone with a cold. I know I wouldn't. We'll see what happens. Stay tuned.

Bad Luck

Tuesday, I started experiencing some throat pain. I thought it might be a little acid reflux which happens on occasion with me. It turned out I wasn't going to be so lucky. Tueday night, I started coughing and by Wednesday morning I had a full blown cold. Crap! Normally, I would call out from the Post Office where I work but as I've mentioned previously, we are very short handed. There wasn't any way they could afford to have me call out. Also, I needed the money. To my great annoyance, I failed to see a number of expenses coming up like I should've example: buying another 3 month supply of Propecia cost $186. To make matters worse, summer has arrived in Maryland. Yesterday, it had to have been at least 86 degrees or higher not including the humidity. Still, I carried on and got the job done. 3 more days to go (including today) and, I can rest for a couple days. I hope I can kick this cold quickly. I'm drinking lot of fluids and taking Nyquil at night so I can sleep. I believe lots of sleep will help me kick it. We'll see how it goes. Cheers all!

Medieval Times Special

The Baltimore/Washington D.C. Medieval Times is offering a special where everyone gets in at just $30. This can be a serious savings as a normal adult admission can be something like $50 each. There are some restrictions. First, it can't be combined with any other offers. Second, it has to be booked on-line. From what I remember, any booking you make on-line is nonrefundable so make sure you are going to go before you book it. Third, you must enter promotion code 30EB59 when making the booking. Fourth, the promotion is only good at the Baltimore/Washington castle. Last, the offer end July 5, 2009. Medieval Times is a fun place to take the family. It offers jousting, sword fighting, knights, a beautiful Princess and a nice story. To be in the spirit of things, all food is eaten with your hands or slurped in the case of the soup. Kids tend to really enjoy that part. Parents, they do provide lots of knapkins and a hot towel after the meal. Disclaimer: I don't work at any Medieval Times castle or its headquarters. Readers should take all responsiblity for any problems with the booking and should double check the Medieval Times website to make absolutely certain I have the facts right before committing their money. This blog is provided as possible benefit to any readers I may have. I've got to the shows at Medieval Times, enjoyed them and I did work for them for a year and 3 months. Cheers all!

Laptop Saga Continues

My laptop saga continues. I received my second U-300 modem. I tried activating it on my new Dell laptop. It wasn't having any of that. I installed the software on my old laptop. It actually picked up a signal on that laptop but, it still wouldn't activate the card. Aargh! I spent over 90 minutes on my cell phone talking with the tech support people at Sprint. Finally, they told me to take to the Sprint store in Laurel which has a repair facility. The folks there will get the thing to activate on one of their computers. Then, I'll go back and make sure I can hook up to the Internet using the card on my new laptop. I hope this will be the end of this saga with a nice happy ending i.e. I get a card that will in time have WiFi connection speeds. That would rock. We'll see. Stay tuned.

eHarmony

Some friends recommended eHarmony to me. They said they knew someone who had met their future mate there. I have had absolutely no luck with dating services. Still, it would be nice to meet an attractive lady with similar interests that I could date. I decided to try them.

I found the questions they ask you interesting. Throught the questions, they try to get an idea of just what you're like. Sometimes, it works and sometimes it doesn't. I don't know where they came up that I was very emotional. I don't think I am.

I put down that bible doctrine tapes were very important to me. They are. I've been listening to them for years and, they've really helped me. Apparently putting something like that got me tagged and, all the matches I got were very religious women. I do want a woman who believes in Jesus Christ but, I don't want one who wants to do missionary work or wants to talk about how she was "saved." To me, that is holy roller stuff and, I don't care for holy rollers.

Another item that is important to me attractiveness. The reason I quit other dating sites is because of the unattractiveness of their members. To my great annoyance, eHarmony has been the same way. I've seen only 1 lady out of 50 that I thought attractive and, she was already in a relationship. Because of this, I checked into the cancellation policy.

I found out that if you want to get your money back, you must cancel within 3 days. As I didn't, if I cancel now, I'm out $198. Damn!

I decided to take out any references to faith or Jesus Christ. I'm curious to see what kind of matches I'll get now. If they don't get any better, I'm going to cancel though I'll be ticked about wasting $198. We'll see what happens. Stay tuned.

Salvation Army

Sometimes, I'll decide to clear out various stuff I don't want for various reasons. Clothes no longer fit, I've changed movie systems, or books have gotten old. Today was such a day. I had 2 huge trash bags full of clothes and movies on VHS. The clothes no longer fit and, I've replaced most of my VHS movies with DVD. A good charity to donate such stuff to is the Salvation Army. They have a thrift store and donation depot in Laurel, Maryland. So, I took the stuff I decided to get rid of and gave it to them. Hopefully, someone still watches VHS movies. Some of the ones I gave them were still in their original wrapper. The clothes I gave them were in good shape too. Someday, I'll have to go in and check out their thrift shop. I've never been in it though I've donated a good bit of stuff to it. For any who might be interested in it, the shop and depot are located just off the exit for Route 1 from MD-32 on Guildford Road. Cheers all!

Postal Service Issues T-Shirts

Yesterday, I got to work for the first time in 3 days. I was delighted to have 3 whole days off. I needed them after working 7 weeks in a row of overtime. While casing the mail for the route I was assigned to, my boss comes over and asks my shirt size. I told him and wondered why he needed it. It turned out the Postal Service issued everyone t-shirts promoting the flat rate priority boxes they're pushing. All carriers have been ordered to wear the t-shirts on Wednesdays. I have no idea why the Postal Service picked Wednesday. This is the first clothing item the Postal Service has ever issued me. Rural carriers don't have uniforms and so aren't issued any clothing items. I bought myself all the t-shirts I wear at work saying rural carrier as well as my Postal Service hat. The only thing we have that identifies us with the Postal Service is our badge. I find it a trip. So, I'll be wearing my new official Postal Service t-shirt next Wednesday. I'll have to write myself a note on my dry erase board so I don't forget to wear it. Cheers all!

Travel Update

Slowly (all too slowly) but surely, the tours I signed up for are getting here. I found out last week that the Globus Canada tour I'll be taking is sold out. That means there will likely be 50 people on the tour. WO! That may end up being the largest group I'll have ever done with Globus. Hopefully, it'll be a nice one. We'll see. In a couple weeks, I should get my travel documents. I can't wait to get those. They make the tour seem more real. Stay tuned for more travel updates. Cheers all!

Recycling Run

Yesterday, I was able to finally make a recycling run. What that is where I load up all the recyclables I'd been saving for the last 4 or 5 months and drop them off at the recycling depot in Glen Burnie, Maryland. The people who pick up the trash in the apartment complex where I live don't have a separate bin for recyclables. Rather than have them go into a landfill, I separate them and take them to the nearest recycling depot. It's my little bit for the environment.

Scooter

I used my Yamaha scooter for one of the purposes I bought it for. I needed to run to my credit union to deposit my monthly retirement check, my latest paycheck from the Post Office and a small refund check I received in connection with my Individual Retirement Account (IRA). My credit union is located in town so it would be an easy trip for my scooter. I had no problems getting there and depositing the checks. From there, I drove to a Burger King close to where I live. I'd clipped some Burger King coupons from a coupon packet I'd received in the mail. One was for buy 2 Whoppers for $5 (you save 98 cents). Also, I wanted to try their new burger bites (they were good and were the same size as White Castle hamburgers). I suspect the cashier was surprised to have someone pull in a scooter. I used one of my backpacks to carry the burgers home. I didn't notice any great wind resistance with the backpack thankfully. I plan to use it again when I need to make a fast food run or small item (a CD or DVD) shopping trip.

Gas wise, I can confirm I do get over 100 miles to the gallon. I've driven over 60 miles on my scooter and, I just hit the halfway point on the gas gauge. I've also noticed that I do get some respect from drivers. I've ridden bicycles on main roads and gotten honked at. With my scooter, no one has given me a hard time.

Overall, I'm pleased with the scooter barring the idle problem. Its annoying to have to keep revving the scooter when I come to a stop. My gas milage might be even better were it not for that. I plan to call the motorcycle dealership tomorrow and see if they have the new tire in. If so, I'll see if I can drop it off, walk over to Best Buy for a little while then, come back and ride it home. Cheers all!

Laptop Saga Continues

My laptop saga continues. Thursday, I received my new Sprint U300 modem. This is the modem that will enable me to take advantage of Sprint's upgrades to its data network. When finished, a person using this 4th generation card will be able to get WiFi connection speeds anywhere. For now, it's limited to certain areas like Baltimore. I figured since I needed to get a new card, I might as well get this 4th generation card so I could take advantage of the upgrade when it became available. Plus, I travel down to Baltimore occasionally.

The card arrived in fine shape. I read the directions on what I should do. I summarily installed the software and drivers that were needed for the card. Then, I rebooted my computer. After that, I attached the card to the computer. At this point, the program was supposed to activate the card itself. It didn't. I called up the menu on the program options and clicked activate. Nothing happened. I managed to find a phone number you could call for assistance with activating the card. They hung up on me twice. Finally, I called Sprint Customer Service. They kept me waiting for over 20 minutes. When I did get to speak to someone, it was very knowledgeable and took me through the steps to activate the card. They didn't work.

The next day, I took the card and my computer to a Sprint store in town where they could try to get it to work. After over an hour at the store, they told me I had a faulty card. I'd have to call for a replacement and send back the faulty card. Crap! I was able to get them to reactivate my old card so I could connect to the Internet. That's how I'm able to post this. So, I'll have to wait 2 or 3 days for a new card and try again. Hopefully, the new card will work. Until I can get on the Internet, I can't begin to get my new laptop up to speed. So, it sits it its new backpack. I may take it over to Panera so I can try to access their WiFi connection. I've wanted to try that for a while and, that would enable me to start installing various programs off the Internet like Firefox. We'll see.

That concludes my latest chapter of my laptop saga. I still have hope I can start to get things working on my new ultra computer. We'll see. Stay tuned.

Scooter Update

I took my new Yamaha scooter for its first real ride yesterday. I wanted to start getting the hang of riding it. It's been years since I rode any kind of bike so, I wasn't use to leaning into turns. Yesterday, thanks to the ride, I started to get the hang of it. Also, I started exploring the area around where I live. I'd like to figure out a way to reach some of the major malls in the area. One limitation of the scooter is you can't ride on roads that have a speed limit higher than 50 mph. That'll make it tricky trying to reach Columbia Mall or Arundel Mills Mall. Still, if I stay on local roads, I may be able to do it. We'll see on that.

The scooter is still having problems idling. I've gotten really good at starting the thing. I've gotten the hang of using the turn signals on it and, I was able to get the mirrors set up to where I can see if there are cars behind me or to either side. I've found the compartment where I can put my helmet spacious. I haven't tried to put my helmet in it yet to see if it'll fit in there. I'm not to sure how secure the compartment is. I plan to try riding the scooter with a backpack soon. I want to see how much resistance I get then. A backpack would enable me to do some limited shopping. That would be a help as I could do minor shopping trips using the scooter saving wear and tear on my car. We'll how well that works.

Overall, I've been pretty pleased with the scooter. It runs well and seems sturdy enough. Also, it looks nice. With rising gas prices, it should save me some money during Spring, Summer and Fall. Once I get the rear tire replaced and the idling problem fixed, the scooter should be good to go. If it continues to be fun to ride, I'll see about getting a faster one next year. Cheers all!

Dell M1730 Laptop Review

As I may have mentioned previously, I have a couple issues with my new Dell laptop. First, I can't use my Sprint PCS Connection card on it. My card has a 54 pin connector and, the laptop uses a 38 pin connector. I visited Sprint's store in Laurel, Maryland and their website store in search of an adapter so I could convert the card to a 38 pin connector. I struck out. So, I ordered a new PCS Connection card. Since, I had to order a new card, I decided to go with their new 4th generation card. This card will be able to take advantage of improvements Sprint is making on their data network. The network will be able to offer Wifi like connection speeds. A minimum of 2 megabytes per second with a maximum of a whopping 16 megabytes! The system upgrade is already available in Baltimore (lucky them). Once I get this new card, I'll be able to continue setting up my new laptop.

Also, I ordered a backpack that will be big enough to hold my new laptop. My order isn't big enough. The M1730 laptop is approximately 3 inches long and a 1/2 inch wider that my old laptop. My old Dell backpack wouldn't be able to hold the new laptop. Thankfully, Dell does offer a really good backpack that will hold up and do a good job of protecting the laptop. The reviews others wrote on it were very good. The downside is the backpack costs approximately $80. As I do want to take the laptop on travels within the U.S., I had to get the backpack. It should arrive within a week or so.

So that's what's happening with my new kick butt Dell laptop. Slowly but surely, it is getting there. It is a very nice machine and, I'm sure I will enjoy it in time. I have learned some lessons I won't forget it i.e. you can't transfer programs from one computer to another. You must install them on the new machine just as you did on the old computer.

Casey's Crab Co.

I said in an earlier post that I would blog about this store. Here goes. Casey's Crab Co. is located on Maryland 198 (heading toward Laurel) just up from the Maryland 198 & Maryland 32 overpass. As the store's name implies, they sell crabs live or steamed. They also sell shrimp, fish & chips, devilled eggs and some other seafood items and as well as shaved ice cups. They have something 20 different flavors of shaved ice. I tried their root beer and found it all right. I thought it reasonably priced. I think the large one I had cost around $2.50.

Seafood wise, I tried their fish & chips, their shrimp salad and their steamed shrimp. Casey's advertise that they have the best fish & chips in Laurel. I wonder if that's because no else claims that title. I wasn't wiped out with the fish though I thought it decent. It looked like a flat fish slab that had been breaded. It was decent but, it wasn't anything to get excited about. The fries on the other hand were tasty. I presume they season them with crab seasoning. They're not your standard crisp McDonald like fries but, I still think they are good. The portion you get with the fish is decent. Casey's offers daily specials and one of them is their fish & chips so you can save some money on this by going there on the day it's on special.

Their shrimp salad was good. The shrimp in it were of very good size and, it was tasty. The only drawback to their shrimp salad is it is pricey. I believe it was something like $17 a pound. Still, it is better than other shrimp salads out there like the one you can buy at Sam's Club which isn't nearly as good. The shrimp in that salad are almost microscopic.

I was able to find a couple coupons for Casey's in the Clipper Magazine which is a flier that comes out in various places including Laurel. There was a coupon offering extra large shrimp for $5.99 a pound no limit. I decided to take advantage of the offer and bought 6 pounds. I was eating their shrimp for days. Casey's will steam and season your shrimp order for free. As the shell is still on the shrimp, in my opinion, it is questionable how much seasoning flavor you'll get. Also, you will have to peel the shells off the shrimp which is messy and tedious. Still, I found the shrimp tasty, of good size and I thought the price was good with the coupon. I believe they were on par with what Sam's Club sells as jumbo shrimp though I believe Sam's were peeled.

Overall, I thought Casey's a decent place. It isn't anything to go out of your way for unless you're really hungry for crabs you want to eat at home. They do have a convenient location in that they are close to the Maryland 198 and Maryland 32 intersection. The service was excellent and the prices reasonable. If you're looking for a good seafood store in Laurel, Maryland, you might want to give them a look. Cheers all!

Hectic Day

I had a hectic day yesterday. To help my boss out, I clocked in shortly after 6 a.m. at the Post Office where I work. I planned to case most of the mail on the route he'd assigned a sub who had never worked that route. If that sub wanted any chance of hitting the street at a decent time, I was going to have to case most of that route's mail. On top of that, one of our 1 day a week subs called in and said he was sick. Saturday is our worst day people wise. My boss told him he had to come in. He refused. My boss subsequently had to case a lot of that route's mail and delivered half of it himself incredibly. I offered to take a bump on that route and asked repeatedly for a particular part that I knew I could knock out quickly. To my annoyance, he gave that bump to another who didn't do jack to help him. The bump he did give me took me an hour and 40 additional minutes to get done vice the hour at most on the bump I wanted. He really knew how to show his gratitude. Don't expect me to help you out of a jam again boss.

After that, I had to dash home, grab my new motorcycle helmet and have a friend give me a ride to the motorcycle dealership to pick up my new scooter. I get there and, there is a line out the wazoo in their service department. Finally, I asked the salesman I've been dealing with to get the scooter for me. He does. We go over various items on a checklist he had. He shows me how to start the thing as well as how to put the scooter on and off its kickstand. I promptly forget both and have to ask him again how to start the thing and how to raise the kickstand. DUH! Finally, I hit the road with my new scooter and find out the timing is bad on it. It shows a nasty tendency to stall out while idling. Crap! I was nervous enough riding the thing for the 1st time without that problem. I managed to get the thing home and had to dash to my apartment to meet the guy that was going to set up my new laptop.

The technician that Installinc sent ends out being outstanding. He did a fantastic job. However, I got more bad news. The Dell salesperson I dealt with when I ordered my new laptop apparently didn't know what he was talking about. I can't use my present Sprint PCS connection card and the Soundblaster Xtreme soundcard at the same time. There is only 1 PCM1A slot in my laptop so I can only use one of the cards at a time. Aaargh! Worse still, My present connection card won't fit in my new laptop (I believe it had 54 pins and the card slot uses a 38 pin card) so I can't connect to the Internet on it. Damn! So, at a minimum, I'll have to get an adapter from Sprint so the card will fit in the slot. Researching PCS connection cards later, I found out the cards are going to USB ports. I wonder if the Dell salesperson assumed I had one of those even though I mentioned PCM1A specifically. I don't know. I do know I may end up buying a new card as Sprint is coming out with what they call the 4G (4th generation cards) cards which will use improvements they're making on their network. The improvements on the network will offer Wifi like speeds. The minimum download speed will be 2 megs and it has the potential to hit 16 megs! The downside is the new 4G card will set me back over $300 unless I sign a new 2 year contract in which case it will cost me $79. I plan to visit Sprint today after church.

So, I have my new scooter which I plan to ride around the neighborhood tomorrow. Later this week, I'll have to take the scooter back so they can put a brand new tire on it to replace the one they patched. I plan to have them fix the idling problem at the same time. Also, I have my laptop which I can use sort of though I'll have to get a new PCS connection card adapter or just buy one of the new 4G cards. I still have a lot of programs I'll have to download like Mozilla Firefox. It's a bit frustrating that 2 of the things I looked forward greatly to getting and spent big bucks on have been somewhat disappointing. Still, the scooter will get fully fixed in time and, I'll eventually have my new laptop set up the way I want it. In regards to the Post Office, I don't know that things will get better there. I'm getting fed up with being spit in the face after going the extra mile for them. We have some that do the minimum and, nothing is done about it. I big time want to leave there but, my spending ensures I have to stay so I can pay the bills for those items. Any chance I can get a bailout too? Cheers all!

Scooter Update

I finally made the last payment on my new Yamaha Vino Classic scooter a couple days ago. I've been looking forward to getting this scooter for some time. They seem pretty cool and, they get great gas milage. That's important with gas prices inching their way back up again. The dealership had one such scooter in the color I wanted. It had been shown on display outside the dealership. Apparently, while it was outside, some how the tire got a puncture which they had to repair. They also ordered an entirely new tire which will arrive in about a week. I wanted to pick the scooter up before the Memorial Day weekend as that'll be a great time to practice riding it in the neighborhood where I live. I called them yesterday and, they said it was ready to be picked up. When I arrived at the dealership, they told me they wanted to call me but, they didn't have my number. Somehow, the carburetor got messed up. They wouldn't be able to work on it till this morning. They assured me the scooter would be ready by this evening. I'm hoping I'll be able to get to the dealership this evening before they close. I'm scheduled to do a full route and, I agreed to help another sub who will be assigned to a route he's never been trained on the route he'll have to do today. I plan to go in around 6 a.m. and do my best to get that route sorted and cased so he can hit the street at a decent time. I may also have to deliver part of the route. Hopefully, I can get all that done, get back to my place and get a ride to the dealership thanks to a friend who agreed to take me. If that didn't promise to make my day hectic enough, a Dell rep is going to come up and transfer some of my files, set up my email program and my Internet connection on my new laptop. I received that Wednesday. It's a very nice looking computer. I wasn't super impressed with all they promised they'd do but, I'd paid for the service so I might as well use it. We'll see how that goes. Stay tuned for more updates. Cheers all!

$20 An Hour

I got floored by something today. My Postmaster called everyone together for a short meeting. He announced that they were going to hire 5 new temporary city substitute carriers. These 5 were out of 10 that showed up for interviews. That's no big deal. What is astonishing is that 25 people were scheduled for interviews. You say what's so big about that. This is for a job that requires no prior experience, no degree, you'll get on the job training and get paid during that training and it pays $20 an hour! I haven't seen too many jobs out that pay that kind of money with no prior experience or degree. Also, remember the economy is seriously stinking right now so you would think that people would just at such a job. It floors me that less than half of those that were scheduled showed up. While the Postal Service is in a load of hurts, you can still make good money there right now. I know this from personal experience. Those people who didn't show up for those interviews missed a chance to make some good money. Cheers all!

Reminder

I wanted to remind any readers I have out there that First Class letter rates went up 2 cents on May 11th. Last week, I saw some letters/bills that got sent back to their senders because they had insufficient postage i.e. 42 cents vice the correct 44 cents. The Postal Service will kick a letter/bill back to you for 2 lousy cents. This could cause you to be late with a payment causing you to have to pay interest on whatever. So, please make sure you use the new postage rate. Cheers All!

Payday

The past week has been a real grind at the Post Office. I got a lot more hours than I wanted. Thanks to that, I did get a nice paycheck this payday. The money will come in handy with the scooter, laptop and optional excursions I plan to do this summer with Globus. Still, the money was hard earned. I will definitely feel I earned this summer's tours as well as the scooter and laptop. Hopefully, after next week, things will slacken some and, I'll get some free time. We'll see. For now, I'll enjoy the fact it's payday and, I've got my hard earned cash. Cheers all!

Reminder - Postage Increase

A reminder to my readers out there, the cost of mailing a letter First Class goes up 2 cents today. Also, if you mail a letter that isn't machinable, the surcharge for that has gone up 3 cents i.e. it now costs an extra 20 cents to mail such items. Lastly, the cost of mailing a regular postcard has gone up 1 cent. Please make sure you use the right postage. I have seen the Postal Service send stuff back for a lousy 2 cents. Or, they've had the carrier try to collect the 2 cents postage due.

The Mall In Columbia

I finally got to visit The Mall In Columbia today. I've been wanting to go there for a while but, after a hard day's work at the Post Office, the last thing I'd feel like doing was drive down there. I decided today would be the day. I'd drive there after church which is what I did. The Mall In Columbia is a nice mall. It isn't as enormous as Arundel Mills Mall but, it has a nice feel to it. It's anchored by Sears, Macy's, Penney's and Nordstrom's. My favorite shop there is Today's Pet. Every time I go there, I check out the puppies they have. I always look to see if they have a Pug puppy. I still dream of getting one some day. I didn't see any Pug puppies. They did have a nice dachshund and some cute kittens.

I saw a few new stores though none grabbed my fancy. I'm still holding off spending the money barring ordering my new laptop. I still plan to pick up my new scooter sometime the end of this month. I did treat myself to a smoothie at American Cookie. The smoothie wasn't as good as it usually is there. I held off buying anything to eat as I planned to stop by Casey's Crab Co which I did afterwards. I'll blog about another time.

Overall, I enjoyed checking the mall out though I didn't buy anything. It was nice to see it again after not having been there in months. If you live some where close to Columbia, Maryland, you might want to check it out. Note: if you have kids, there have a carousel kids can ride on though they do charge for it.

New Laptop

I ordered a new laptop yesterday from Dell. I held off initially because it looked like they weren't offering the 12 months interest free credit. I emailed their financial services folks and, they assured me they were offering that. Once I knew I'd have 12 months to pay the new laptop off, I set about figuring out what I wanted in the thing. My first requirement was a big screen. The M1730 comes with a screen that is 17 inches across diagonally. Second, I wanted a super big hard drive as I'm saving lots of music and photo files on my laptop. My new laptop will have an incredible 500 gigabyte hard drive. When I ordered my current laptop 5 years ago, the best I was able to do was an 87 gigabyte hard drive. Prices on RAM have apparently gone down since I ordered my last laptop as I'll be getting 8 gig of RAM vice the 1.1 I received on my current laptop. I'll also get a 1 gig video card and lojack service with my on site warranty program. An extended warranty was an absolute must. I should be able to extend the warranty on the new laptop another year so I'll be good for 5 years like I have been on my current laptop. Interestingly, with all the dramatically improved bangs and whistles, my new laptop will cost over $500 less than my current one. The amount would be more but, I opted for the service where they come in and transfer all my files and programs from my current laptop to the new laptop. This is especially important with my Sprint PCS card software and card.

I should actually receive my new laptop sometime close to the end of the month. Dell will keep me informed when it actually ships. I'll be excited to get my toy and, I'm curious to see how much better it performs vice my current laptop. To be honest, I think my current one is fast enough. As I stated previously, the main reason I'm replacing it is my fear my current one would go on the fritz. Without a warranty, that could be very expensive to fix and there wouldn't be any guarantee I'd recover all my files. It's taken me some time transferring my music files to my laptop. Also, it would be a royal pain to have to reload my photo files. I do plan on getting an external hard drive so I can move photo files that I don't look much at but want to save electronically. Sam's Club and Costco have good prices on those.

So, that is the latest update on my future laptop. It should be a cool machine. I'll let my readers know when it actually arrives. Cheers all!

Glass Pen

I forget when I bought my glass pen from Nostalgic Impressions. I know it's been sitting on my living room table for at least 5 months. I'd previously tried some wooden pens with metal nibs and, the nibs proved to be of poor quality. They didn't hold hardly any ink and one actually splayed. I forget how I heard about glass pens but, I decided to try one so I bought one from Nostalgic Impressions. After buying it, as I said, it sat on my table unused until today. I saw it and remembered I'd never tried it to see if it wrote well or not. I decided to try it. To my surprise, the pen writes very well. The nib on it manages to hold enough ink to write at least 6 or seven words before you have to dip it again in the inkwell. The pen itself looks very nice. The only fault I can find with it is it seems fragile. I held the pen carefully as I didn't want to accidentally break it. Barring that, I was very pleased with it and, I plan to use again sometime when I want to knock out a fancy letter to a friend. It would be neat to write a letter that way. Cheers all!

Quiet

It's been quiet at my end of the woods. I haven't been doing anything exciting because I've been trying to save the money so I can pay off the scooter I'm in the process of buying. I paid $1,100 on that this past Tuesday. I still owe $1,070. I should have that paid off later this month. I'll be glad to finally get the thing and see what it's like to ride it. I found out that scooters can depreciate just like cars can. If I do decide to trade the thing in down the line for a bigger better scooter, I can expect to lose around $550 in depreciation in the first year (about a 1/4 of its initial value). Crap! Also, to my surprise, there is a value book put out on scooters by NADA. I found out about that from a friend at the Post Office. I didn't know there was such a thing. Scooters are sublisted under motorcycles in the book.

The Post Office continues to be filled with drama. For some reason, upper management has repeatedly visited the Post Office where I work. They seem to be looking for every little possible error. This is annoying as I have enough to worry about with trying to deliver the mail correctly and in time. It's anybody's guess what is going to happen to the Postal Service itself. The upper management folks keep saying we're going to run out of money. They say we're not bringing in enough. That's possible. I have definitely seen a drop in mail volume. Part of it is technology and part of it is the piss poor economy. I repeatedly receive notices from my credit union asking wouldn't I like to go to paperless statements. They even offer to put in for a drawing for a cash prize. I decline in part because of my job at the Post Office and in part because I like receiving a hard copy from them. I'm especially leery of going paperless with bills as it is very easy to forget an email notifying me of an upcoming payment. It's harder for me if I have something in paper I can see reminding me. The bad economy makes me leery of spending the money I earn. Especially, when I'm sure what is going to happen with my job at the Post Office.

I continue to slog away at my stories about my Egypt trip for the Globus exchange travel stories website. To my surprise, my last story which was about the day excursion to Alexandria received a superior rating. I liked that. I suspect I got that because I did some research which I included in the story like when Alexandria was created by Alexander the Great and some of the gods that had been worshipped at the Serapeum (temple complex) in Alexandria. I'm working on my next one about our visit to Saqqara and Old Memphis.

I finally finished off the boneless wings I bought from Cluck-U. I found them good. I'm pretty certain they weren't wings at all but, breasts coated like buffalo wings. While they were more expensive then the regular wings, you do get a LOT more meat with them. I thought the honey hickory flavor was good. I'd like to try the Caribbean jerk flavor and see if that is any good. We'll see on that.

Lastly, I've decided I'm going risk it (see previous comment about job insecurity) and order a new laptop at the end of this month from Dell. My current one is running fine but, it is getting old and the warranty is going to expire on this month. That scares me. I don't want any computer problems which I'd have to pay for. While I haven't had any major ones with my current Dell laptop, I'd like to play it safe and have a computer that is something goes wrong with it, they HAVE to fix it and pick up the tab. I haven't forgotten how expensive ($400) it was to replace the motherboard on my first laptop (a Sager). I plan to go with Dell again as the laptop I bought from them has had so few problems and their tech support has been great when there were glitches. I feel they're reliable. Also, Dell is offering a nice deal on certain models where I can get 12 months interest free credit. I'm certain I can pay the new laptop off in 12 months. I'll be excited to get the new laptop as it'll be a neat new toy I can play with. One thing I have found true is that as I've gotten older, my toys have gotten more expensive. Oh well.

That's all from my end of the woods. I think you can see why I'm not posting much. There isn't anything terribly exciting to blog about. I will have some neat future adventures to blog about in mid-summer. That's when I go on back-to-back tours with Globus. I can't wait to do that. I'm counting the days. I hope all is well with you reader of my blog. Take care and God bless.